Most Powerful Sith Lords from Star Wars

Brought The Jedi order to the brink of extinction. Was arguably the most powerful force user of Darth Banes Rule of two ( excluding Bane him self). Brought the Sith from hiding and formed the Galactic Empire ( A Sith Controlled puppet state). He accomplished all of this with the least of efforts because he had his apprentices to all the dirty work for him. When he was engaged in combat he was overwhelming ( except during the fight with Mace Windu because he wanted to sway Anakin over to his side by showing vulnerability). He is the most intelligent sith lord bar none. The only Sith lord that is in his class is Darth Bane. You could say Sidious is Banes creation through his Rule of two. Darth Sidious is the culmination of a thousand years of sith philosophy and teachings.

Darth Sidious was the most powerful Sith ever. He possessed twenty billion people and then drained them all at one time. He created force storms that could destroy entire planets and could warp reality and teleport Palpatine across the galaxy. He created force induced hurricanes whenever he was extremely angry. He created a dark force nexus when he died. In legends he died multiple times before being dragged down in to the deepest darkest depths of the force. He could only be killed by unorthodox methods. The only Sith that could actually beat him is Vitiate. Palpatine would probably have predicted Vitiate's every move anyway. He knew all seven lightsaber forms despite having a disdain for them. If left uncontested he would have probably ruled the galaxy forever.

1. Darth Sidious manipulated The Chosen One (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) like a pawn on a chess board. The Chosen One was scared of Sidious! "Vader imagined the power that could be his if he crushed Palpatine and established his own rule over the Empire. But first, he would need his own apprentice. By himself, he could not hope to defeat the most powerful Sith Lord the galaxy had ever known. "
- Vader: The Ultimate Guide, P. 19

2. He was able to conceal his true identity, as an unprecedentedly powerful Sith Lord, from even the Grand Master of the Jedi Order - and defeat him.

3. Sidious was also the only known being capable of producing a Force storm of his own power, a dark side technique which he discovered, and that had enough power to kill an entire world. It was able to rip the space-time continuum and create a hyperspace wormhole.

4. He was one of the greatest duelists of all time. A Sith Swordmaster, Sidious was one of the very few who was the equal of ...more

Darth Sidious was possibly the strongest Sith of the Age of the Rule of Two, he amassed the knowledge and techniques of his master Darth Plagueis and had contact with countless Sith artefacts before becoming his apprentice. He managed to send a Dark Side Cloud over all of Coruscant that protected him from the powers of the Jedi and had several apprentices during his years in the shadows. Including a fallen Jedi or two.

He controlled and manipulated the entire Galactic Republic on a level which eventually, there was no need for a senate, he was the leader and controller of everything without question. He manufactured a war that was set to kill off all Jedi in a purge that hasn't been rivalled in any major historical event before the Great Hyperspace Wars.

He then ruled unopposed for nearly 20 years as the Emperor of the First Galactic Empire, which he himself had the Senate reform its republic status into without objection. His only mistake was not ordering Lord Vader to ...more

The Jedi turned Sith turned neutral. This man, no, this GOD OF DESTRUCTION, was defeated only through the cowardly betrayal of a Sith named Scourge, a coward out only to save his only life. He brought the Emperor to his knees before betrayal destroyed him. He was all consuming, calling upon the Light, as well as the Dark in a way of Gray. He fed his power of the Dark Side with the emotions of the Light side, compassion and loyalty and love, so as to create power never before used or known. Unlike the Emperor, who stole his power and immortality from a world and so had power that was not truly his, Revan CREATED his power from himself. He himself was powerful enough to destroy the power of the world forced into one man, only to be brought down by a traitor. So he may have been defeated, but the only man capable of doing so used power that was not truly his, and that is why Revan is the stronger of the two. Revan influenced Bane, who is also incredibly powerful, in the Rule Of Two. ...more

Revan is the obvious choice for the number 1 spot. He was a genius, destroying everything in his path, and if you read everything you could, you would've noticed the part where it shows Revan's end. After he was saved from his torturous prison by a Jedi strike team, he continued his life with his companions. On his way to (I forget which planet), he was attacked by rouge Sith. Right before he was dealt the killing blow, Revan's body erupted in a column of light and he was teleported to an eternal planet where he lived forever. Also he understood both sides of the Force, the Light and the Dark. He simply was unstoppable.

We're not even sure he's dead. It's assumed he died of old age eventually, but we have no idea of how he died. Sure he was beaten a few times, but during those times, he always would either win the rematch (against Bastilla and Malak, most notably) or would plant the seeds for their destruction (if Revan and not made significant preparations, could Lord Vitiate have been stopped? Many argue Revan made considerable effort to prepare the Republic for invasion. ) So he's excellent in combat and even has the foresight to deal with opponents far into the future. No other Sith OR Jedi can replicate what he did.

Darth revan a legendary Sith Lord
A legendary Jedi hero twice
A expert ship flyer, pistol user, master of languages and a expert strategist.

Defeated the mandalorians, accomplished what the republic couldn't, reconnected with the force twice, defeated countless Sith Lords and Jedi champions and council members.

Stood he's ground against Sith emporer lightning and had a 300 year mind battle with him (was actually winning).

Survived he's apprentices assassination attempt and later killed him after fighting through an army.

Killed loads of monsters and beasts of the universe and set worlds free from Sith ruler ship.

He's not only the most powerful and intelligent Jedi of all time one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time.
But beyond all that he has the most interesting story and life of it all.

A Jedi champion who raises an army of jedi to do what the Jedi council could not. To face and defeat the mandalorians. Later goes with few ...more

Vitiate killed his father with just a thought and then slowly tortured his mother through the force. His eyes were pure black! He absorbed a planets energy and therefore made himself immortal. He basically destroyed a planet just with his powers of the force. He also imprisoned not only 12 of the most powerful sith lords of their time in their minds and he even did it all at the same time. Meanwhile he imprisoned 2 of the most powerful jedi just by thinking (revan and malak). He can take the body of others and use them for himself. Also when he decided that he was bored with controlling the the 2 most powerful jedi ever he just killed them both with one force blast. He took over the galaxy and ruled it for over 5000 years. If you're thinking of voting for revan then think again because vitiate killed him with only 1 powerful force blast in which he wasn't even making an effort in doing. (he killed malak too so don't vote for him either). So to recap don't just vote for people who you ...more

1.We have not seen Palpatine possess galactic level threat.

2.We have not seen Palpatine achieved corporeal immortality.

3.We have not seen Palpatine can warp reality itself.

4.We have not seen Palpatine can ravage entire planet in essence form.

5.We have not seen Palpatine creates being from pure dark side energy.

6.We have not seen Palpatine essence could collapse structures.

7.We have not seen Palpatine can strip Jedi connection to the Force at the age of 10.

8.We have not seen Palpatine essence can unleash attack which can turn millions people to ash.

9.We have not seen Palpatine put his essence in thousand individuals.

10.We have not seen Palpatine hide an entire army of Force users from Jedi order.

11.We have not seen Palpatine can possess multiple people simultaneously.

12.We have not seen Palpatine consumes Force and sounds themselves.

13.We have not seen Palpatine can defeat a strike team of ...more

Darth Vitiate was definitely the most powerful Sith of all time. He was the only Sith lord to have accomplished one of the most important goals of the Sith: IMMORTALITY! Now, I know many people will make these two arguments, they will say Darth Sion and Darth Sidious have accomplished this same goal. Well, yes they did temporarily. Let me explain, Darth Sion's "immortality" was just his spirit clinging on to his body, his body was still DYING. His body would have eventually become nothing but a pile of dust that is possessed by his spirit. Now, in the case of Palpatine he technically did become immortal but he eventually was dragged to the depths of the force. Basically, he went to the Star Wars version of Hell. Vitiate however stayed existent for all eternity, hell he might still be existing even during episode VII and VIII. He was able to control the entire Galaxy even in his spirit form. He knew every force ability even when he was a ghost. Sure, he didn't learn all seven forms of ...more

I agree that Lord Vitiate is by far the most powerful Sith Lord in Star Wars history. After all he did simultaneously dominate the minds of 8000 Sith Lords as well as kill his foster father by snapping his neck with a mere thought and strip his real father, Lord Dramath, of his connection to the Force (causing him to go insane) before killing him. Also, Vitiate was able to create the Children of the Emperor (extensions of his will that were deemed so ignorant of their true allegiance that they had no knowledge of Vitiate, the Empire or even their connection to the Force; making them the ultimate "sleeper agents" something no Sith Lord, including Sidious, had ever done.

Something that makes Darth Bane super powerful is his Orbalisk armor (Parasites that lived on and covered Darth Banes body and are almost completely invincible). These Orbalisks allowed him to have a stronger connection to the dark side, gave him more strength,had healing properties,can give him adrenaline, and they can even deflect lightsaber blades. Honestly this pretty much almost makes Darth Bane invincible. I think that this should put Darth Bane at the top of the list.

Bane was far more influential in the grand scheme of things than many of the other Sith mentioned. He was never a jedi either, which should put him ahead in terms of purity. While some may have been stronger with the force, better with a lightsaber, or smarter/more cunning, no one was stronger with all of these characteristics combined. He could therefore use other aspects of his power against those who were stronger in one aspect. He completely revolutionised the Sith (albeit with Revan's ideologies), and (SPOILERS! ) he may not have actually died at the hands of his apprentice like many believe he did.

Darth Vitiate could obviously be considered to have the strongest powers seeing as how he lived and ruled for so long. The great thing about Darth Bane is that he sought out the datacrons of the most powerful dark force users, including Vitiate, and gained their knowledge of the force. He is obviously one of the greatest wielders of the light saber of all time and had plenty of brute strength, speed, and stamina. He was also comparable in cunning to Sidious. Through the rule of 2 and his destruction of the Sith he fooled the Jedi into thinking there were no more dark force users. He maintained a false identity, accruing wealth and information while masterminding the destruction of the Jedi and Republic. On top of his natural affinity for the force he was a revolutionary thinker who wasn't watered down with the influence of the masses. He delved very deep into sith archives and mastered rare powers quickly such as the force storm. He was a a master of battle strategy even before his ...more

I don't see how Darth Bane could rank lower than Darth Vader. Darth Vader killed the Emperor not by battle, but just by the fact that the Emperor wasn't paying attention. In my opinion Darth Bane is the greatest sith overall, especially with his orbalisk armor. His apprentice's will power was weaker than Zannah's but he was still able to attach part of himself to her. (hence that last part in the book about Zannah's left hand twitching) Darth Bane took on three of the greatest Jedi swordfighters in history while they had battle meditation on their side. So I think Bane is the best sith. Just my opinion.

The thing with Darth Nihilus by comparison to other sith lords is that he's a force vampire. They devour the force, and with each foe defeated and each power used against him, he became stronger. No matter who he faced, he would always be destined to win. The only reason he was ever able to be defeated was because Visas has a force bond and Meetra is another force vampire (although much less skilled at absorbing the force). Even Darth Vitiate should fear one such as he, since Vitiate's incredible power with the force becomes basically useless any time they're even thinking about one another.
The fact that a powerful force vampire like him was even able to be defeated was purely a matter of circumstance and knowing manipulation from Kreia, and were he to live much longer the entire galaxy would've been at his fingertips should he wish it.

Nihilus shouldn't even be questioned to be number one, as he is obviously the biggest threat to all life. His presence absorbs life and his voice literally destroyed an entire planet of Jedi from another Solar System. Literally just speaking killed the planet. He also became immortal with his spirit being encased in his mask as armor, and he was alexithemic (meaning to lack any emotion) so he felt literally nothing in killing people. He was the driving force in the Purge of the Jedi by wiping out planets and consuming their force essence, causing him to become more powerful each time. He was so powerful even that his body began to decay into literal force energy, forcing him to merge his spirit with his mask as armor. He is the embodiment of force and wields ancient force techniques such as Dark Rage, Farsight (more common), Force Scream, Force Resistance, Force Whirlwind, and more. His most commonly used force abilities include killing people with thought, sight, energy/life sapping, ...more

Let me make this clear, a Sith Lord with unknown force abilities during the time? His species became unclassified but as a living object of shadows? Swallowed planets? The Death Star blueprints seems to be built off his sheer power alone. Nihilus is definitely unfinished, and already contains all these feats. When it comes to solo threats, Nihilus would be the last sith I'd want to deal with. He had no weakness, and no advantage either. Nihilus was the picture perfect painting of the dark side. Not number one but top 5. The magnitude of fear gives him tremendous power.

No other Sith could do what Nihilus did. yes, Vitiate consumed an entire planet's force energies, but that required the presence of many other Sith Lords to assist him. Nihilus could do this on his own, without performing any type of ritual. He could even do this to Jedi. NIhilus was also able to bind his spirit into his armor in order to exist in the real world without a body, making him immune to most mortal injuries. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader never came near this type of power through the force. No doubt that Nihilus was the most powerful Sith in terms of power through the Force.

First of all, if they ain't canon then they're out. That currently leaves 6 in the running; Bane, Plagueis, Sidious, Maul, Tyranus, and Vader. Now reorder them by importance to the plot, and you'll find that Vader lands preeminent. Vader is arguably the most recognizable villain in cinema, let alone from this franchise, attributing to its early success while the Emporer wasn't even a main character until Return of the Jedi. Now imagine a hypothetical situation where each of the canonical Sith broke the bands of time to were pit against one another. You can bet your bottom dollar that George Lucas would have Vader as the last man standing, and that's how I came to my conclusion.

He had bigger potential than any force sensitive person known. So firstly Anakin started his training relatively late leaving his mother enslaved on a sand planet alone. As any child would, he missed his mother and the council wouldn't let him help her. By my opinion Obi-Wan wasn't fit to train Anakin (no hate towards Obi-Wan), with that big potential and a prophecy about being the chosen one I think the council didn't predict what would happen with Anakin. They kind of didn't pay attention to his emotions being out of place and not respecting the Jedi code. What I meant by all this is that even with that lack of training he became extremely powerful, not to mention the loss of his limbs and the burning which weakened him completely. Now imagine Darth Vader unburnt, with all his limbs (even with one mechanic hand) trained sith lord. I believe he would be unstoppable, having his limbs cut off his bond with the Force was severed (partially) imagine if he was whole. Darth Vader/Anakin is ...more

Without ever completing his Jedi training, a late start, and chosen to become the youngest member of the Jedi council ever. Vader's potential was indeed in a league of it's own. It's been said that he never applied his full power and that once his limbs were replaced with mechanical ones his connection to the force became weaker as a result of it all. Sidious himself feared Lord Vader still. Despite his "lack" of proper training and limited force use he was still able to match or even perhaps on his own surpass his Master Obi-wan, and defeat Luke on a number of Occasion's. Were it not for Sidious manipulating him at such an early stage Vader could have easily become far more powerful than he even was. Lord Vader Is the face of all Sith and he is definitely the standard for most movie villains even today outside of Starwars. One could even argue that he became more powerful than Yoda himself seeing as how he fled into hiding, only until Luke came to power. Vader Ultimately broke free ...more

Dumb ass nerds who vote for anyone else than vader to be number one, God help you. This character is evil itself and his potential is far greater, and the force was strongest in Vader than anyone in history. Darth Vader is by far the most powerful sith lord because of his potential, and he still fulfills his destiny and takes down the sith. With that being said he reached his potential, and became powerful, and was able to join Yoda and Obi Wan in a method of the force that Yoda taught Obi Wan. Who taught Anakin/Vader? No one.

Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.'

In every novel I've read that mentions Plagueis, he is acknowledged to be the most powerful of all. He was the one who created the idea of manipulating the midi-chlorians and created life several times. This power eventually led to the CREATION of the Chosen One, who is 4 on this life. Sidious had to kill him when he was in the deepest meditation state, so that he was not defeated with just a thought. It was said he was unchallenged by the entire Jedi order. They were THAT scared of him.

Let's see: Was the only ever Sith Lord to achieve the power of creating life, was very likely the one who created the legendary Anakin Skywalker, played dumb tricks with the Jedi, and as master of Palpatine and banking clan head he was pretty much the one responsible for the First Galactic Empire. That he died of Sidious' force lightnings is garbage, Plagueis was much more powerful and wiser than Darth Sidious ever was and ever could imagine.

Darth Plagueis 8th while his apprentice is 2th? What kind of joke is this. This is why we can't have nice things.

What is intriguing with Plagueis is that we know a very little of his full abilities and capacity. But what we do know is that everything he touches turns to gold from a dark side of the Force perspective. Lets see:

*Orchestrates the Grand plan which leads to the ultimate destruction of the Jedi Order, parachutes Palpatine into power and sets up the empire. A plan so cunning and vicious in its scope it almost entirely erased the Jedis - unheard of from practically every Sith up til Darth Bane. Installs his tool Sidious to perform while he himself goes down with business like bending the Force to his will.

*Learns the ability to cheat death and creates life. He is so insanely skilled in practice and the theoretical aspects of the Force that the Force itself reacts and creates the most naturally gifted Force user ever existed as a result of the ...more

Exar Kun killed an amount of Jedis and Sith that the others cannot even imagine. Exar Kun is just rank 7 cause most Star Wars "fans" just watched a few movies, and don't even recognize this name.
His strenght was legendary, and to kill his body, it took them an entire army against one. To kill his spirit, an entire school of jedi students.
No single jedi or sith could match his strenght. He alone could kill anything, anyone that stood in his way.

He was once the dark lord of the sixth, and his mentor was Freedon Nadd, possibly th greatest light sabre duelist that ever lived. He invented the double bladed saber, and took the title of dark lord of the sith.

He was one of greatest wielders of the dark side of the force, and was one of the founders of the sith empire. I think he deserves better.

He killed a ton of powerful Jedi, had incredibly powerful force abilities, raised an extremely badass army, recruited a ton of followers from the Jedi, and kept the Sith tradition alive. He also freed his soul from his body and stayed alive for 4000 years. How is he not number one?

"Exar Kun, because of you, the Sith will never die. You have earned the right to bear the mark of Dark Lord of the Sith". -Marka Ragnos If marka ragnos thought exar was 1# then I do not underestand why in the world he is not number one SO CLICK THAT damn VOTE BUTTON!

I'll admit, the video game characters are really overpowered. I mean, Obi-Wan was the first to defeat a Sith Lord in 1v1 in a thousand years and then there's Starkiller who defeats Sith Lords and other Jedi like he's dropping flies. Also, unlike Revan, who was swayed by both sides of the force to varying degrees, Starkiller was swayed by neither, always doing his own thing, despite being raised to follow the dark side. In the end, all that mattered to him was those he loved, and neither side of the force was going to take those away. Not to mention Revan had a party for many of his feats, while Starkiller did everything alone. Then there's his other feats, for instance, remember the fall that killed Windu? Starkiller fell many times that height and survived by cushioning himself through the Force Alone. Remember how even Luke could only stalemate Sidious? Starkiller actually won against him. Starkiller has done many things to surpass even the greatest of Jedi by a ton. He deserved #1

Ok I can't believe he isn't number 1! I mean the guy ripped a star destroyer out of the sky without any help, when unleashing his full power he is nearly invincible, beat Darth Vader and Darth Sidious showing him standing over sidious all mighty and stuff, easily the most powerful force user and blademaster as seen when he is unleashed! The guy was more powerful than anyone even Marka Ragnos who was basically the god of sith! His power equaled estimating around 10 yodas when using his full potential since Yoda had to struggle a little bit lifting an X-Wing when training Luke Skywalker. People have to get the facts straight and look Marek up. You will be suprised! Even Sidious said it himself "He was more powerful than ever... " so tag along people.

Galen Marek is easilly the most powerful sith or force user in Jedi and Sith history. He was able to decimate countless imperial armies by himself, not to mention he defeated Rahm Kota, Kazdan Paratus, Maris Brood, and the Emperor and darth vader SINGLEHANDEDLY. Hell, he even managed to overwhelm Shaak Ti and his former master Darth Vader in lightsaber combat, both of whom were two of the greatest duelists of their time. Also, Marek was able to defeat PROXY's training modules replicating some legendary duelists such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul. He was even able to telekinetically grip and change the direction of a falling Imperial I-class Star Destroyer and force it to the ground. And let's not forget Starkiller, the codename given to a clone of the late Galen Marek, who was said to be even more powerful than the original Marek was.

Starkiller defeated four female Rancors, one Bull Rancor, five AT-ST's, two Shadow Quards, Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, Master Shaak-Ti, Kazden Paratus, Master Rahm-Kota, Maris Brood, Chop-Aa, The Basilisk War Droid. He also ripped a Stardestroyer out of the sky with the force, blocked Sidious's lightning with his bare hands, infiltrated the Death Star. Even as a child he force pulled Vader's lightsaber out of his palm. He also was oone of the only force users ever to convert from Sith to Jedi (often the other way around). This has gotta count for something.

So, I see the comments are ridiuclous. Let me tell you why he should at least be higher than vader.

Unlike other sith lords, Maul managed to attack palpatine with dual sabers purposallly instead of an old palpatine who had no idea they were gonna do a random duel of a fates, either way vader died quickly. But going on, he managed to kick Palpatine... Second of all he was best when fighting Ashoka. Maul actully beat Ashoka but only left her alive so he could let her join him. Vader actully lost some of his mask when fighting Ashoka, and was walking somewhat weakly when the battle was done.

Darth maul is the most epic character that first came to star wars. As well as looking really cool, he is one of the best duelists in the galaxy. Sadly he was defeated very early on by obi wan Kenobi. But he somehow survived his injury and started to become a powerful Sith lord. He took over Mandalore with a group known as death watch which is now his personal army. He also trained an apprentice known as savage opress who took on Darth tyranus and Asajj Ventress at the same time. Darth maul actually escaped Darth Sidious when captured and lived on to the age of the empire where he killed the inquisitors and still lives on. No one knows what happened to him but you have to admit Darth maul deserves some credit for surviving that long

If I hear "he got killed by a padawan" again... Dude was a young apprentice fresh off wiping out black sun by himself and toyed with 2 Jedi simultaneously and was clearly superior, not his fault the ending was terrible and star wars has an obsession with finishing off superior talent with endless pits (see sidious). He wasnt going to take over the world or anything but his talents were underserved greatly. He was a beast in clone wars too but I can't even take that seriously.

He has survived the attack of Obi Wan so he can survive another. He has made his saberstaff which means he is skilled in the lightsaber arts and the fighting arts. He can use the force greatly. He taught his own MONSTER-LIKE brother Savage Opress. Though if he survived the incident with Kenobi he still would've been Palpatine's apprentice and Darth Vader wouldn't have existed. HE is the one that could've ruled the galaxy. To me he is #2.

Darth Malgus was one of the ONLY sith lords to keep the original ideas of the Sith order, not Sidious's sith order, which wanted to rule the galaxy.

Since the first jedi civil war, the First great Schism, and the second great Schism, the "Dark sides" whole motive were to destroy the jedi. This ambition feed over to the republic when the jedi swore to protect the republic. Darth Malgus even after being betrayed by other high sith, stuck to that idea so strong, that he made his own empire, believing in the idea of the TRUE sith order, down with the Jedi, down with the republic at all cost!

Malgus was personally in lightsaber combat DOMINATED. His brute strength through the dark side, not to mention his natural physical size and his rage which granted him a near unstoppable willpower. He was like darth bane, but without an obelisk attached through his body, he was like Darth Sion except he didn't force himself to stay alive, he stayed alive because he was that bad ass. It ...more

This guy is a living tank, he survived one of the most powerful force pushes of all time and took an avalanche of rocks, all he got was a respiration mask and a few cybernetics. He is one of the only true Sith that deserves everything he earned; he believed in the first official order of the Sith.

Malgus is extremely awesome... He does not deserve to be ten he deserves to be one. He was brutal and merciless cared nothing of life only death. His downfall was not so small after killing thousands of people and jedi. He was super powerful and only got more powerful with every death he caused.

I think that since he did try to save his "slave" but than realized what she was to him and killed her without even a tear. Even though they loved each other. The fact that He fought for what he believed, unlike other Sith who just wanted power, makes him stronger in the way of the force in my mind.

Dooku was one of he most powerful Jedi before he left the order and learned more about the Dark Side of he force, becoming even more powerful. He could battle powerful Jedi like Obi-Wan and Anakin by himself regularly and was able to hold them off without breaking a sweat. He only lost to Anakin because he was ordered to by his master. On top of that he was very wise and even Sidious was wary that if he wasn't left in check he could, with the help of his a apprentice of Dooku, could over throw him, which is up to speculation. Either war, Dooku was very powerful as both Sith and Jedi and should be higher up as well.

Dooku is far more talented than Maul, the versatility from expert swordsman/lightning-sadist (superior in my opinion to Maul) all the way to the façade of 'political idealism' and secretly building an army. Man's got talent. All force driven/inspired/blessed whatever.
Darth Tyranus was basically Sidious mini-me, adequate distraction for the Jedi and Republic in every way - because he was a genuine threat in his own right, and had a nice big army bankrolled by his friends.

Darth Tyranus should be much higher on the list. He stood up to Yoda, Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu. Not to mention that he had training from two of the best: Yoda and Darth Sidious.

How is he 25! He defeated both Anakin and Obi-Wan handily in Episode 2! He also trained Greivous to be the beast that he is. He would beat Darth Maul no doubt.

He has scepter called the Scepter of Ragnos, which has power to infuse dead body, so the person can go back to life. This means Marka Ragnos is the second known sith lord is the history of the galaxy which can bring people back from death.

The only ancient sith, who didn't cause their destruction, but led them to a golden age of strength and glory.

He was The most powerful of the most powerful of the Sith in ancient Sith Empire.He was able to survive 5000 years as a spirit and nearly return in Jedi Academy.The corruption of his weaken spirit was strong enough to kill Tavion Axmis.

Most people would argue for Darth Vitiate's occupation of the number one spot. However, while it is a valid point that it did not serve his ambitions to challenge Ragnos's rule, who controlled the Sith Empire during his lifetime, I think it is a notable fact that he submitted himself to receive the title of Vitiate from Ragnos, without question, for example. Furthermore, though he used the enslavement of others' will to dominate with an unheard-of and unrepeated capacity and magnitude, it seemed that that was his only uniquely powerful characteristic, and even in order to achieve his ultimate goal of galactic devastation, he needed the simultaneous deaths of billions, a feat of pure force that he was incapable of independent of with his Force powers, a feat he attempted only with the military aid of superweapons. However, there are others who were capable of that kind of power, Naga Sadow being one. Here's a member of the Sith powerful enough to engineer supernovae lightyears away ...more

Indeed Sion only died because he allowed himself to die. You can not say anything similar about any other sith lord. No matter how many people you kill, life you create, people you dominate or how many planets you drain, if you are mortal and thus killed by another you are a lesser sith lord then darth Sion.

Number 9 what! He used the dark side of the force to kept his decaying body together, if you cut off his arm leg or head he would use the dark side to reattach and hold together. It made him immortal! Plus he let himself die no one killed him!

I don't care what this survey says... Darth Sion was the most powerful Sith ever! He is the only Sith to die of his own accord, every other Sith is killed by enemies or apprentices.

Darth Sion was unstoppable! The only thing that could kill him was his self. And because this a contest of power Darth Sion wins hands down.

I mean come on, he was an extremely powerful Sith sorcerer, he had his own living meditation sphere controlled by thought/can reshape and reassemble itself to create whatever he needs/and focuses force energy to make him more powerful?!?! He could even manipulate and destroy stars and solar activity?!? Plus he's a pureblood Sith. What more can you ask?

I say Revan, he is very powerful and was actually thought to be the chosen one. Reven bested anyone he had ever faced and managed to become twice as powerful when he had been the dark Lord, he even would have killed the Sith Emperor if he had not been distracted.

Naga Sadow was the very first sith lord and started the sith empire. That's gotta count for something right?

I mean he blew up a star by looking at it, that has to count for something, right?

I understand how others might believe that Darth Caedus isn't as "powerful" as many other Sith or Jedi out there, but realize this. He was FIRST, the grandson of Anakin, making him already a decendent of the Skywalker bloodline. SECOND, he created and mastered force powers that were either never possible, or lost to history (flow-walking, weather prediction, mirror illusion, teleport objects, manipulation of bodies' electromagnetic field, etc. ) FINALLY, he actually experienced a moment of become a 'oneness' with the force. He actually united with the Force itself, becoming a transfigured being of pure Force energy. He achieved a deeper unity with any Jedi( or Sith) in history and became technically "the most powerful manifestation of the Force on record. "
I don't think you can really top that...

Come on! The guy defeated the yuuzhan vong by himself, mastered deadly techniques no one had even heard about. Could destroy 4 jedi and kyle katarn in battle without even trying. Was so powerful he could move starships, deflect turbolasers, control the molecular structure of non force sensitives.
Also he was able to defeat Jaina Solo and 10 mandalorians with one arm!
One of the most brilliant strategists the galaxy ever saw as well. Any other sith lord would be no match for Darth Caedus.

Had the potential to be the greatest Sith lord ever. Fell short, whether you feel it was Jayna's skill/tactics or by his own choosing. If defeated by his sister, then he was outmatched. If he chose his demise because he achieved his goal, then he wasn't really a Sith, was he?

I read the legacy of the force and it emphasized so many times how powerful Jacen Solo was. In reality he wouldn't have lost to Jaina, and he mastered many skills including one only Mace Windu had before. I think Caedus is in the top ten, but maybe it's just my bias.

Darth Malak should be at least in top 10. I mean, he was one of the most powerful Sith Lords of his time. Revan beat him for sure, but that was not an easy task. He was able to unlock most of the Star Forge power and that should count for something.

He and Revan were best buds. He was powerful too, but definitely not as much as Revan.

BRO he almost defeated Revan anything more needed?

I agree, but he couldn't defeat anybody in 10 top list.

Kylo ren's skill is way underrated. Though I agree he does not deserve a top 10 yet, and would've lost to the likes of maul or vader, he still deserves mention. First, the fact that he was even dueling Rey with the extreme injury that still affects him in episode 8 simply shows that he is a very tough combatant. Also, along with these injuries that he sustained, both Rey and Finn were very skilled in physical combat. I will admit that while as said he is a skilled duelist, his force abilities far outshine his dueling abilities. Freezing bolts flying with extreme force, an ability we have never seen. He was also able to use sith mind control on unwilling, and strong-willed opponents, very nearly extracting the information from Rey. All of these feats show he is powerful, yet I still don't believe he deserves top 10 yet. But, he has only been training for 6 years, so we shall definitely see his full power and skill in the future.

1. He can use force stun and just completely freeze everything around him and when he force pushed Rey always up to the peak of tree! That was awesome.
2.He introduced us the cross guard lightsaber which epic.
3.His endurance is off the chart! shot in the leg by a bowcaster Hit with a Lightsaber! and takes it like a man but more just once all this and the man just won't go down.
4.He is Darth Vader grandson! And he can talk to Vader through his mask!.
5.He Killed Han Solo the best smuggler the galaxy's ever seen
6.he's the leader of the Knights Of Ren!

will just have to wait for the next movie to see how powerful he really is.

I think kylo ren should be at the very bottom of the list. I mean his dueling abilities are terrible and his force abilities are a joke in comparison to older sith like in the old republic or newer sith like assaj ventress he is a joke. The only reason he is still alive is because he has no real force users to fight against. And he is a kid with entidelment issues.

He is just a Darth Vader fanboy with acne and daddy problems. Very weak in the force even Rey who was new to the force beat him. He will never be as powerful as Vader with enough training he might be able compare to minor sith like Savage oppress and Asasj vintress. Though I will give him a nod for being a natural with a light saber.

This guy is pretty cool, no doubt. He survived 66, fought Obi Wan Kenobi, and what?! He lived to fight who could have possibly have been Ben Skywalker's grandson. That is pretty sweet. I like this guy, and although the Yhuuzan Vong thingy helped him this guy should belong in the top ten.

He created the One Sith and abolished Darth Banes Rule of 2. He survived Order 66. He lived for over a century. He knew the secret of essence transfer and dark transfer. He was a master of Jar'Kai. He was a master of the dark side.

Underrated, not in the top 5, but he did do the 3rd Jedi Purge, conquered the Galaxy (by coup), survived order 66, created the One Sith, help Grand Master Luke kill Abeloth... Easily top 10

Deserves to be ahead of maul, maul looks cool and that's about it, Maul is more like a sith assassin than anything, Krayt is not only powerful in the force but super ripped. That guy could crush the Jedi temple with the force or his bare hands lol

This is the Sith who killed Darth Bane (who slaughtered the whole Sith order) by using her force powers to fend of Bane's brutal but very physical attacks. Clearly she was stronger with the force than Darth Bane and should be put higher up on this list.

Zannah is two things, deadly and unpredictable. She's extremely good at manipulating through role play, bribing, and charm. Keep in mind that she is a with sorcerer... So yeah, she should go on the top.

She should be higher up to be honest, because she defeated Darth BAne, who defeated COUNTLESS other people. Pretty powerful Sith, I must say

Master of Sith magic
She would drive you insane with by filling her victims minds with their worst fears.

He was the first sith to discover essance transfer -how to cheat death.

He is one of the first sith to discover essence transfer, that says enough